


Wish Upon a Hundred Stars

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asgardian Tony Stark, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Human Tony Stark, M/M, Temporary Character Death, don't worry it vaguely makes sense, just like most of the things that I write, not Asgardian and human at the same time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 17:16:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: "The first time Loki had laid his eyes on Anthony, he knew that there was something special about the Asgardian. And not just because of those gorgeous brown eyes or very nice ass. There was just… a glow to Anthony, an inner light that made him look brighter and more beautiful than any star in the universe."Loki and Anthony are soulmates. And for two such stubborn men, it means that they will continue to hold on to each other through even the most difficult of situations. Sometimes love is strong enough to last longer than life.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 248





	Wish Upon a Hundred Stars

The first time Loki had laid his eyes on Anthony, he knew that there was something special about the Asgardian. And not just because of those gorgeous brown eyes or very nice ass. There was just… a glow to Anthony, an inner light that made him look brighter and more beautiful than any star in the universe. 

Once Loki finally recovered from the experience of merely seeing Anthony, he illusioned up one of his most impressive court outfits, and strolled over to the blacksmithy that Anthony had been standing in front of. “Who do I speak to for commissions?” he’d demanded in his haughtiest tone.

Anthony had given him the strangest look before answering. “That would be me, your majesty. But uh, are you sure you want a commission from me? I know that the palace has plenty of smiths-”

“Are you suggesting that your work is inferior?” Loki had drawled out. He knew immediately that he loved the spark that lit up in Anthony’s eyes in response. 

Anthony crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his chin out like he was looking down on Loki, despite being clearly the shorter of the two. “My work is the finest in the nine,” he insisted. “And nobody, prince or otherwise, has any right to say differently.”

Loki smirked to hide a more genuine smile. “Then it would seem I am in the right place afterall.” He’d followed Anthony inside the smithy, and requested two daggers, the best that Anthony had ever made. Anthony had reminded him that he would have to go on the waiting list, since he was a popular business and refused to show favoritism towards anyone, including royalty. Loki had offered a small fortune for his name to be moved up the list, but Anthony had refused. 

When Loki had returned the next day, Anthony had looked ready to throw something at his face, maybe even the heavy anvil resting on the ground in front of him. Loki just smirked and said that he needed to watch Anthony at work to see whether Anthony’s claims about his quality were true. 

Anthony had just narrowed his eyes, but agreed to let Loki stay. They shared small talk on occasional intervals, but for the most part Loki just sat around and watched with fascination as Anthony worked. The man seemed to put everything he had into his work, and almost every piece that he made came out perfect. The few that didn’t were immediately scrapped, even when the flaws were so small that the purchaser would probably never even notice.

As the weather grew warmer over the weeks, Anthony began to sweat more and more over his forge, until Loki finally told him to just do whatever made him most comfortable. Anthony had dared to roll his eyes at the prince before stripping down to his undershirt. 

Loki felt frozen in place as he looked at the skin that had been revealed, including a green snake on the back of Anthony’s shoulder. Without even thinking, Loki had made his way over to the smith and reached up to gently press against the design. 

Anthony’s shoulders tensed for a moment before he relaxed and turned around to face Loki. “Surely you’ve seen a soulmark before?” he teased. But Loki was not in the mood for teasing, and instead vanished his own shirt in an instant so that he could turn around and reveal the truth to Anthony. Anthony let out a small gasp as he saw a snake identical to his own, in the same exact spot. There was a long moment of silence as Loki got redressed, and then turned to face Anthony again, more warily this time. He knew that he had a poor reputation among many people, and was often seen as the inferior, stranger prince. He forced himself to meet Anthony’s gaze, and tried to read what was written across the other man’s face. Finally, Anthony cracked a large grin that made him look much younger than usual. “Soulmates with a prince, huh? I’m really moving up in the world, aren’t I?” 

Loki scoffed, but could not keep a smile off of his own face. “My father will be thrilled to see that I’ve found a soulmate in a commoner.” 

“Hey, there’s nothing common about me,” Anthony protested with an adorable pout. With that, the tension between them broke, and suddenly the air was more comfortable than it had been in all the time Loki had been visiting the smith. 

The two of them began to spend more time together outside of Anthony’s work, especially after Anthony had commented that he ‘didn’t put out until at least the third date’ and they hadn’t even had a single one yet. Loki had been more than happy to take Anthony on all kinds of adventures. 

The first time the two of them had kissed, it felt like being showered in sparks, and warmth welled up through Loki’s entire body as their soulbond became complete and solid. For so long, Loki had thought that he would be alone, and had convinced himself that he was satisfied with just his books and his magic for company. But having Anthony was so much better than anything he could have ever imagined. (And when Anthony ended up moving Loki’s name up the list, well, that was just an added perk)

Loki loved Anthony more and more with each day that they spent together, as he learned of all kinds of things. His mate was so smart and could easily keep up with Loki, and was fascinated by magic (though was firm in declaring that he would never want to learn it himself). He was kind and generous to many who would be considered ‘undeserving’ by most. He was always eager to learn more, about everything and anything. He was also funny and clever and so talented at what he did. And of course, he was also very beautiful. 

They took decades to get to know each other, with Anthony easily accepting every flaw of Loki’s, and vice versa. Loki would have been content to continue on like that for hundreds of years more, but then Anthony’s father came to visit. It was one of the rare times when Loki could not be with Anthony, because his mother had requested a private audience with him.

Loki had just taken a sip of tea when he felt a brief flash of fear through his bond, and then suddenly- nothing. He leapt up to his feet, not caring when the tea cup fell and shattered on the ground. He’d run off before his mother could even ask what was wrong, and rushed straight to Anthony’s smithy.

When he got there, he saw Anthony with his back up against one wall while a man who strongly resembled Anthony stood nearby and looked angry. “What’s going on here?” Loki had asked in one of his coldest voices. 

The stranger had turned and looked at Loki with annoyance, though it quickly faded when he recognized Loki. “Your majesty, I am honored by your presence.” He shot a glare at Anthony. “As is my son. What can we do for you?”

Loki crossed his arms over his chest, entirely unimpressed. It had not escaped his notice that in all the time they’d been together, Anthony had never once made any mention of his family. “I believe that I asked a question.” 

The man paused for a moment before offering a smile that might have been charming if Loki didn’t already have suspicions about what was going on. “I am simply here to tell my son the good news about me finding a spouse for him. It is nothing for a prince to worry himself over.”

Loki arched one eyebrow, and took great pleasure when the man took a small step back. “As a matter of fact, such a thing would concern this particular prince, seeing as how I am Anthony’s soulmate.”

The man’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Loki and Anthony, as if he could not believe such a thing were true. If he tried to call Loki a liar, Loki would be sure to have him arrested on the spot. But at least the man seemed smart enough to understand that, and his smile tightened into something closer to a grimace. “I was unaware. There were no announcements from the Allfather of your match.” Despite the deference in his posture, there was something smug in his tone, like he’d just called Loki out for being a liar without having to use the word.

And while Loki wasn’t a liar (well, he was, but not in this specific instance), in a way, Anthony's father was right to be smug. Until soulbonds were brought before Odin to be seen and made official, there was nothing legally binding about the match. 

Loki offered Anthony’s father a shark-like grin. “What convenient timing, then. We were just going to bring our bond before my father in the morning.” He silently dared the man to argue. 

He let out a small sigh, and his shoulders slumped down in defeat. “I see. Well in that case, congratulations. Now if you would not mind, I need a moment to speak with my son.”

“Not at all,” Loki assured him, as he casually leaned back against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and one leg crossed in front of the other. 

When it was quite apparent that Loki would not be leaving, the man let out a huff and turned back to Anthony. “Congratulations,” he said stiffly. “You should have told me that you found your soulmate.”

Anthony stared at his father in disbelief. “Right.”

There was a very awkward moment of silence, and then Anthony’s father shrugged. “I’m staying with Elediah. Come see me later.” Then he stormed away.

Even after he was gone, Anthony remained where he was, pressed up against the wall and looking far smaller than anyone ever had the right to make him look. Loki walked closer to Anthony, though hesitated before reaching out, unsure if his mate would welcome the touch. 

Anthony flinched away, just slightly, and Loki had to force himself not to feel hurt by it. “You’ve never mentioned your father before,” Loki said, giving Anthony an in to start talking if he wanted to.

Anthony wrapped his arms around himself, and Loki wanted to just pull his mate into a tight hug and not let go until everything was normal again. “I prefer not to,” Anthony muttered. “Were you serious when you said you wanted us to be officiated by the Allfather?”

Loki blinked once, and then nodded. “What’s the use of being soulmates with a prince if the entire realm doesn’t know about it? I want everyone to see how much you mean to me Anthony.”

He couldn’t hide the hurt and surprise when Anthony shook his head. “I don’t want that.”

Loki furrowed his eyebrows. “Is it too soon? I only-”

“I don’t ever want that,” Anthony clarified, though Loki only felt more and more confused. He felt like he was talking to an entirely different man than the one who had once told him about his childhood dreams of having a big wedding with lots of guests and music for everyone to dance to. “It’s just not my thing. You understand, don’t you?” He had a smirk on his face by the time he finished talking, but there was still a look of fear and sadness in his eyes. Loki wished that Anthony wasn’t blocking their bond so that he could know what his mate was actually feeling. “Loki, I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together, but I just- I need some space. Please.”

Everything in Loki screamed that leaving was the wrong thing to do, but what other choice did he have? He couldn’t just stay and force himself into Anthony’s space, or he’d be no better than Anthony’s father. It was one of Loki’s biggest regrets, though, that he had acquiesced and returned to the palace, resolving himself to visit Anthony again in the morning once he’d gotten the chance to calm down.

By the time he’d gone to the smithy the next day, Anthony was already gone, his entire shop cleared out. There was nothing left but a single note on the door, and it wasn’t even addressed to Loki. It was for all of Anthony’s customers. It was short and simple, saying only that he had decided to travel around the nine in order to learn more. Everyone with an open commission would have it sent to them at some point over the next few months, and there was a recommendation for a smith who supposedly second only to Anthony. 

Two years passed, achingly slowly for someone of such a long-lived race, and then Loki bolted upright in bed when he felt his bond snap. He’d gotten used to being blocked off, as much as he didn’t like it, but nothing could break a fully formed soulmate bond- nothing except for the death of one of the mates. 

The last time Loki had seen Anthony was at the wake. The body had been transported back to Asgard to be sent off. Odin had initially forbidden Loki to go, though Loki could not figure out why, but Frigga had managed to convince him to change his mind, insisting that Loki needed closure.

He had gone to the wake, and felt like he was a total stranger. The body in the boat was so lifeless, and so wrong. Anthony had always been full of life, and seeing him any other way grated at Loki’s already raw nerves. 

There were many people at the wake, most of them vaguely familiar. When he saw Anthony’s father, he balled his hands into fists and resisted the urge to go over and punch the man. He still didn’t know what had happened the day Anthony had left, but he knew that it involved the father Anthony had deliberately never mentioned. 

Once the ceremony was over, the boat was lit and pushed out onto the water, and Loki went back to the palace. The one good thing Loki had had was gone, and the universe should weep for the loss of such a brilliant, wonderful man. 

Hundreds of years passed, and secrets were revealed, and loyalties were tested, and then one day Loki found himself on Midgard. He’d once been fascinated with the idea of such a place, but now he got no joy from his presence there. And then a metal man landed in front of him, and the metal peeled away, revealing a face that Loki had never once been able to forget about, no matter how much he had wanted to at times. Loki knew his purpose in being sent to this planet, but for just a moment, he was free to think of something else instead. Someone else. “Anthony?” he whispered, saying the name for the first time in a very long time.

,,,

The first time Tony saw Loki, he’d not been having the best day. Too much had happened, including Pepper dumping him, and he felt utterly lost. When he’d looked at Loki, he’d gotten a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he figured that blasting the alien in the stomach with a repulsor would be enough to make him feel better. 

More stuff happened, most of it shitty, and then they were in Tony’s penthouse, which was one of the last places where he actually felt safe- though he was sure that that would greatly change now that an evil alien had broken in. Tony made sure he had his bracelet on just in case, and then offered Loki a drink.

When Loki reached out and wrapped his hand around Tony’s neck, bare skin against bare skin, Tony felt a strange shivery sensation all over his body, and then he felt heat on his back. The heat quickly increased, until it was scalding and Tony had to grit his teeth to stop himself from shouting out in pain. He’d been through worse, he could handle whatever science (disguised as ‘magic’) that this was. 

Once the pain finally ebbed away, Tony opened his eyes again, and then let out a small gasp. Loki’s eyes, which had been bright blue just a minute ago, were suddenly bright green. There were so many emotions flitting across Loki’s face that it was hard to isolate just one, and then Loki mouthed Tony’s name before abruptly disappearing, letting Tony drop back down to the floor. He reached up to rub at his sore neck, and stared at the space where Loki had been just a moment ago. If that didn’t qualify as ‘completely and utterly bizarre’ then he didn’t know what did. 

Then there was no time to be thinking about the weirdness that had happened because there was an alien invasion going on, and then Tony was flying a nuke into space, and he was sure that he was going to die. It made sense, in a cruel sort of way. He’d already extended his life for much longer than he was meant to be alive for. And he knew that there were at least a couple of people who would miss him. What more could a guy ask for?

The portal was closing behind him and his suit was failing, and Tony was almost glad that he was going to die here, because otherwise he just knew that he would otherwise have nightmares about this moment for the entire rest of his life. He closed his eyes, and the last thing he saw was the aliens all blowing up, and he was grateful that he’d finally been able to do something right.

Then he had the strangest dreams, and Tony wondered if he had died already. He dreamed of living on a different planet, and being in love with Loki of all people. He dreamed of being ‘soulmates’, even though he knew that that was just a term used in fictional stories and old wives tales. 

Even stranger than all of that, though, was when he actually woke up again. It was to the sound of the Hulk roaring, which wasn’t even the worst way he’d been woken up before, and he looked around at the worried faces of the other heroes, and wondered what exactly he was looking for, and why he felt any disappointment that he couldn’t find it.

At the end of the day he invited everyone back to the Tower, and found that he wasn’t that desperate for them to accept. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but that lost feeling inside of him had somehow disappeared. Of course he was still sad to lose what he had with Pepper, and he still hated that he only saw Rhodey on occasion, and he still felt lonely- but he didn’t feel entirely alone. It was nice, for lack of a better word, even if it wasn’t anything that he could explain. 

That night, Tony poured himself a glass of whiskey, and tried to force himself to make it last. He didn’t want to go to sleep, because he was already afraid of what he’d see when he closed his eyes. It had been four years since Afghanistan, and he’d only just been starting to sleep without nightmares, but now he had a whole new set of memories to give him nightmares. 

He stood out on the balcony, one arm resting against the railing while the other held his glass. He took a sip, and then he heard a soft voice. “Anthony, how are you here?”

Tony was startled, but managed to keep his grip on his glass before it could plummet seventy stories down to the ground below. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he turned to see Loki standing there. His eyes were still green, and full of emotions. 

There was no way that an alien was standing on his balcony, but there was undeniably an alien standing on his balcony. “Your uh, your brother was looking for you earlier. He didn’t want to leave without you, but then he decided that it was important to bring the tesseract back to Asgard. Where’d you go? Because I’m warning you that if you still plan on conquering the planet, we’re going to stop you.” 

Loki blinked a couple of times, and then shook his head, looking weirdly upset. “No, of course I’m not going to- Anthony, how are you here?”

Tony frowned, and shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe they don’t give the sex talk on Asgard, but where I’m from, it’s pretty common knowledge. See when two people with compatible parts hate each other very much-”

Loki waved his hand through the air to dismiss Tony’s words. “That’s not what I meant,” he grouched. “I saw your body. You were given a grand funeral. So how are you here on Midgard? And why wouldn’t you try and contact me? It’s been so long, Anthony.”

Tony held up his hands. “Look, I think that there’s some kind of misunderstanding here. Yes, my name is Anthony, no, nobody is allowed to call me that, and no, I have never met you before Germany so clearly you’ve just mistaken me for someone else.”

Loki looked so devastated that Tony felt bad for the villain who’d just tried to take over the world, but it’s not like he could just lie and pretend to know Loki (even though he couldn’t help thinking of those dreams that he’d had as he fell from space where he’d known Loki very well indeed). “I do not believe in coincidences, Anth- Stark. You look and sound identical to a man I once knew, and even share the same name. Surely there is a reason for that.”

What was he supposed to say? He couldn’t let the guy’s hopes get up when Tony already knew that he wasn’t who Loki was looking for (he was never who anyone was looking for, but that was besides the point). “Look, you’re kind of a wanted criminal on Earth at the moment, so it might be for the best if you find a place to lay low. And trust me, my Tower isn’t exactly the epitome of subtlety. I mean, you can stay for a night or two if you need time to figure stuff out, but even I draw the line at permanently housing a wanted man. But if you need help finding the next place, I can-”

Loki shook his head, and took a small step closer to Tony. Tony probably would have taken a step back if it weren’t for the fact that the balcony railing was already pressed up against him. “There is something else going on here,” Loki murmured, and he reached out like he was going to touch Tony’s face. 

And Tony was feeling in a pretty generous mood, especially since he suspected that Loki had been no more in control of his actions than Clint had, but he still had boundaries, and even if they were rarely obeyed, he needed to make it clear that he didn’t want to be touched by someone who was essentially a stranger. “There’s nothing else going on,” he said firmly. 

Loki dropped his hand, looking disappointed. “I am going to figure it out,” he announced, and then he disappeared a moment later. Tony stared at the empty space, and then lifted his glass to chug down the remainder of the contents. He was definitely going to need another one. 

,,,

Loki threw his book at the wall when he finished flipping through it. He felt like he’d already gone through every book in the palace library, as well as his personal one, and hadn’t yet found a single reference to anything that might actually help him figure out what was going on.

No matter what Stark said, Loki knew without a doubt that there had to be a connection between the Midgardian and the man who had been Loki’s soulmate all those years ago. What other explanation could there be for the fact that Loki had been snapped out of the scepter’s influence after making direct contact with Stark? 

Thinking of the way he’d almost thrown the man out his own window made him feel sick, and he was very grateful to know that he hadn’t done any permanent damage to Stark, regardless of whatever the connection might turn out to be. And of course, Loki was also intrigued by the glowing blue light in Stark’s chest that had prevented him from being affected by the scepter. He knew for a fact that Anthony had never had such a thing embedded in him. 

There were so many regrets that were left heavy in Loki’s heart when it came to Anthony and how things had ended. And now he was somehow being given a second chance, and he just needed to figure out what exactly that chance was, because he had no clue. He hated not knowing what was going on. He was supposed to be the smart one between him and Thor. 

He considered checking in some of the older libraries on Midgard, but he didn’t think that they’d contain anything useful either. Of course Anthony somehow managed to get himself stuck on the one realm that did not have soulmates. He’d always had a knack for making things more difficult for the both of them.

There used to be soulmates on Midgard, if Loki recalled correctly (and he usually did). But the Midgardians had noticed quite early on that they, like most races, were not all gifted with a soulmate. It was not a rare occurrence, nor was it a common one. But unlike the other races, the Midgardians had not seen those with soulmates as being blessed by the norns, or whatever deities they believed in. Instead, they began to call those who were marked ‘cursed’, and actively went out of their way to prevent soulmates from meeting.

Because people were born with their marks, there was presumably some genetic component to it, even though the children of soulmates did not seem to have any higher chances of being marked themselves. No one knew for sure how it worked, though, because even now there were very few experts on soulmates. But eventually, the Midgardians had managed to all but breed soulmates out of existence. Perhaps there were still very rare cases of someone being born with a mark, but it was probably not publicized, since it would be seen as something strange and frightening to the morons around them.

As Loki tried to run through a mental list of all the best libraries he knew of, hoping that someone, somewhere, would have some kind of literature about a soulmate dying and reappearing elsewhere years later. He didn’t pay enough attention to the door, and was startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat. “A little light reading, my son?”

Loki whirled around and saw Frigga standing there, a compassionate smile on her face that only made Loki’s chest ache. “I was not- I was just-”

Frigga’s smile turned sad, and Loki cursed himself for making that happen. She was probably the only person in the universe who still cared for him and truly believed in him (though he thought of Stark’s face and hoped that that would desperately change soon). “You have nothing to fear from me, Loki. I am not going to turn you in.”

Loki’s shoulders slumped down in relief. He’d somehow foolishly let himself forget about the fact that he was a wanted criminal because he’d been so eager to search the library for answers. He hesitated for a moment, but then moved forward to let his moth- to let Frigga pull him into a hug. Even though he was taller, she managed to make him feel like a child again, being comforted after suffering the cruelties of the world he lived in. “I saw Anthony,” he whispered, afraid that if he spoke the words it would somehow undo the truth in them. “He does not remember me, though. And he seems to have lived an entire life on Midgard. How is such a thing possible?” 

Frigga rubbed soothing circles on Loki’s back until the kindness grew too painful for him to bear it, and he had to pull away. “This seems like the sort of conversation best had with tea. Luckily for you, I was just about to have some in my rooms.” In her rooms where Odin dared not incur her wrath by disturbing her, which was perfect.

They made it to Frigga’s rooms without anyone spotting Loki, though he wasn’t so distracted that he missed the feeling of her magic floating through the air, keeping them just out of sight. They sat down, and there were already two teacups waiting for them, to which Frigga just offered a secretive little smile. “Do you know how it is possible? I’ve looked through every book that could possibly be relevant, at least in this library.”

Frigga took a long, deliberate sip of her tea, and then set the cup down on the saucer before leaning back in her seat and looking at Loki. Her eyes roamed all over him, like she was drinking in the sight, and Loki felt sorry for not trying to return sooner if only to see her. He had not left Asgard on good terms the last time, when he had fallen into an abyss of misery and pain and-

Loki cleared his throat, but didn’t bother repeating the question. He knew that when it came to Frigga, she often liked to be vague and cryptic with her words, always trying to lead Loki to the answers for himself instead of just telling him. “Did I ever tell you about my soulmate?”

Loki’s eyes widened and he stared at Frigga in shock. “You and the Allfather are soulmates? How did I never-”

Frigga shook her head just once, and it was enough to immediately shut Loki up. He had always made it his business to deal in secrets, but somehow he’d never even guessed at the existence of such a big one. “Not my husband. As you know, the magic that created soulmarks guaranteed that all mates would meet at some point in their life. I did not meet mine until after I was already married to Odin. And I do love him, stubborn man that he can be sometimes. I never forged a bond with my mate, since no matter how much I cared for him, I could never betray my husband. We were friends as far as anyone was concerned, and no one dared question my actions, including befriending someone so quickly. In the end, though, I had to send her away with the full knowledge that I would never be able to see her again. She was foolish enough to fall in love with me, and making her leave was my only way to protect her.”

Frigga leaned forward, and cautiously reached out to take Loki’s hands. He let her, and appreciated that she kept her grip loose enough that he could easily pull away. He still wasn’t sure why he was being told this story, but he knew that Frigga had to have a reason. “Many, many years after we had parted ways, I heard that she got married and had children of her own. Her youngest was an adult when he came here to find me. He told me of his mother’s passing, and that she had left a note for me.” Then she got up and wandered over to her desk, pulling open one of the locked drawers and withdrawing a yellowed scroll. “I’ve long memorized every word of this, but I could never get rid of it.” She held it out to Loki.

Loki took it gingerly, not wanting to accidentally ruin the last piece Frigga had left of her soulmate. He very carefully unrolled it, expecting a long detailed love note full of emotion and reminiscing and all kinds of profound revelations and promises. Instead, the only words on the page were ‘Until next time -N’. Loki looked up at Frigga in confusion. “I don’t understand why you’re sharing this with me,” he admitted. 

Frigga gently took the scroll back and returned it to its place in the drawer before she sat back down and faced Loki again. “For a great many years, I felt as though I had been cheated out of a proper farewell, even if I was the one who had pushed her away in the first place. Oh, I was still so young then. Younger even than you are now. And then one day, I understood. She had never wanted to leave me, and even though I could never feel for her the same way she felt for me, I still loved her dearly. And I have no doubt that she loved her wife, but she never stopped being in love with me. And I learned that soulmates are meant to be together, darling. So if something happens that prevents that, and one of the mates is determined enough to be with the other, they will get another chance.”

Loki’s eyes widened. “So you saw her again? And she looked the same and everything?”

Frigga nodded once. “Yes. As though not a day had passed since the last time I saw her. She was seen as something of an anomaly though, since her new life was among the dwarves. She must have been quite a strain on her poor mother. I saw faint echoes of the past around her, though she was the only thing identical to what had once been.”

“So what happened? Where is she now? How did you make her remember?”

Frigga took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out, taking another sip of her rapidly cooling tea before answering. “She is somewhere safe. I may have more power now than I did in my youth, but the circumstances are still the same. It is not fair on either of us for her to be here when I cannot complete our bond. And as far as I know, she still has no memories of her life before this one. I never tried to reawaken them.”

They were both silent for a long minute, and then Loki finally took a sip of his tea. It wasn’t the usual calming blend that he was used to Frigga serving him. Instead it was something spicy and warm. “Do you know what it would take to bring the memories back?”

“Memories are very important, darling, but they are just glimpses of the past. If you were truly lucky enough to find Anthony again, then perhaps it is time to make new memories.”

Loki immediately shook his head. “I can’t. He hates me. He was- he was one of the Midgardians who tried to defend Midgard. Against me. Without his memories, I don’t stand a chance.”

Frigga sighed, and then leaned forward to pat the top of one of Loki’s hands. “Soulmates exist so that people don’t have to be alone. And you have found yours twice now, which is only further proof that it is meant to be, even if the marks didn’t confirm it.” There was a sad look on her face as she pulled away from Loki. “I have already argued on your behalf, but my pig-headed husband refuses to see reason. I cannot keep you from being imprisoned if you are caught here. I do not want to send you away, but-”

“Seems like that’s what your best at,” Loki snapped, regretting it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He was mortified by his own actions, acting so callously towards the woman who had loved him without any motivation despite not being related to him by blood, and who had defended him and taught him and took care of him. He hurried out of the room without another word, and to one of the many secret passages that he knew about. 

He took the tunnel back to Midgard, and even though he had absolutely no idea what he was doing, he decided to seek out Stark again. At the very least, Stark had already offered to let him stay for at least a few nights, and it would be rude to turn down such an invitation. Though Loki wasn’t sure how he’d keep himself sane being so close to his Anthony, while still being impossibly far away from him.

,,,

Tony was in his workshop working on the latest model of the Iron Man armor. The last model had had a bit of a problem where the joints locked up pretty badly when he fired the missiles, and he wasn’t quite sure why. As he tinkered with the partially disassembled arm, Jarvis suddenly quieted the music that Tony liked to blast while working. “Sir, there appears to be an intruder in the Tower.”

Tony didn’t even look up from where he was prodding at various wires and servos. “You don’t sound very alarmed.”

“You had previously extended an invitation for Mr. Liesmith to stay temporarily in the Tower. While the invitation was never rescinded, he was not given permission to enter today.” 

Tony just shrugged one shoulder. “Great, get him set up somewhere, J. Tell him to make himself at home.” Then he returned his focus to what he was doing, and waited for Jarvis to turn the music up again. Tony hated having to work in silence. He’d never been fond of doing that before Afghanistan, but after having to work in secret and be so hushed all the time, he’d gotten something of a complex over it. Then again, what didn’t he have issues about at this point? 

The music didn’t resume, though, so Tony finally looked up in annoyance, only to find that Loki was standing right there, practically nose to nose with him. Tony let out a loud curse as he dropped the tiny screwdriver he’d been using. He reached up to press one hand against his heart. “Jesus, are you trying to give me a heart attack? I already have a bad heart, you can’t just show up like that.” 

Loki frowned, and there was a concerned look on his face that seemed entirely out of place, especially since he hardly even knew Tony. “You have a weak heart?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it weak,” Tony scoffed. “That’s just insulting.” Then he felt annoyed with himself for so easily giving away his weaknesses to the enemy, and wondered why he felt as though he could just trust Loki for no real reason. He cleared his throat, and then his shoulders slumped down. “Want some coffee?”

It looked as though the super villain was entirely unsure about whether or not he wanted coffee, which was just a travesty, so Tony decided to do his part for the world, and grabbed Loki’s arm to drag him over to the elevator. They went up to the kitchen, where J had already started the coffeemaker, like the beautiful, precious, wonderful AI that he was. 

Once it was done brewing, Tony poured out two mugs, and handed one to Loki. Tony gulped his own down, needing the caffeine. Until Loki’s interruption, it had been at least, uh, some amount of time since Tony had taken a break. Loki was more hesitant to drink, and he took one small sip before wrinkling his nose in a way that was absolutely not badass at all. In fact one might almost call it cute. Tony wouldn’t, of course, but someone else might.

Tony took the mug out of Loki’s hand and swapped it with his empty one, and gulped down the rest of Loki’s coffee. “So do you want to see your accommodations for the night?” 

There was a weirdly intense look in Loki’s eyes as he answered. “Yes, please. And Stark? Thank you.”

Tony grinned. “No problem, Reindeer Games. Now, on the way, let me give you a little tour of the joint, huh? Let you see what the power of the Stark name can do when it comes to fixing this place up? Now, here is the rec room…”

Loki found himself paying more attention to Stark- to Tony’s- face than to the words being spoken. He really couldn’t see any obvious differences between Tony Stark and the man Loki had loved so desperately. And of course, he had seen the achingly familiar snake on Tony’s shoulder when the man had been bent over his work table, tank top showing off his shoulders quite nicely. 

Loki thought about what his mother had said. He'd definitely have to go apologize to his mother soon, and maybe he'd be able to take Tony along for the trip. But for now, he focused on the part where maybe it was time to try and make new memories instead of focusing so hard on the past. And when Tony glanced over his shoulder at Loki, a familiar grin on his face, Loki decided that maybe moving forward wouldn’t be so terrible.


End file.
